


The Sun Will Rise Again

by leopardeyes



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, ako is the self-proclaimed lord of the abyss, hagumi is just an angel as always, sayolisa crumbs if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:53:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28944006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leopardeyes/pseuds/leopardeyes
Summary: "I'm glad. You look really cool today… I think… she will definitely like it."Ako looked at herself again in the mirror, this time blushing."She doesn't need to like it. I am Ako, the Eternal Lord of the Abyss and the thoughts of a mere knight mean nothing to me. My goal is to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies. Whether they appreciate our aesthetic tastes or not is irrelevant, as long as they kneel to me.""I think she'll find it very scary, then," Rinko said, giggling.
Relationships: Kitazawa Hagumi/Udagawa Ako
Comments: 10
Kudos: 16





	The Sun Will Rise Again

Sunlight spilled in through the window. Oranges, reds, yellows - it was the glow of evening, the day's last breath of fire before dying out into the night. Before, the sunset didn't mean much to Ako. It was nothing more than the waiting period until the darkness and solitude that demon queens were fond of. But, recently, she had started appreciating how the sky would become stained by honey as the sun, the bright, bright mysterious thing, would slowly sink to the ground. As if the sun itself was visiting the nighttime.

She stood in her bedroom, staring at the jagged landscape outside as Rinko prepared Ako's dress behind her. Ako's castle was on top of a cliff so by looking out, she could see the kingdom below. All the buildings were huddled together, swamped on every side by forest. Individual buildings were too small to distinguish. They were like pebbles scattered on a path, only recognisable after a second glance. Between her castle and the kingdom was a rocky wasteland, veined with toxic streams and inhabited by goblins. They were harmless but seemed to frighten the people enough that they wouldn't step a foot near. That, or the looming shadow of Ako's castle was what kept them away.

Ako smiled to herself. It felt good to be an all-powerful queen who intimidated the people in the nearby village.

She turned around, needing to be careful not to move her feet too much in case she stepped on some fabric. There weren't many tables and surfaces in Ako's room, so Rinko had to lay out all the clothes on the floor, which became a cluster of purple and red dresses. Rinko seemed to have gone through Ako's entire wardrobe to find inspiration. The one table that was free was a tiny square one in the corner, short enough to be used as a footstool and too small for Rinko to put clothes on. All it had was an enchanted bracelet that a friend gave Ako supposedly to ward off the forces of good. Based on how frequently a certain knight had been visiting, it wasn't working.

Rinko helped Ako into a black dress with an intricate design, as was typical for something Rinko made. In the middle were two dragons, both gold, facing each other like they were about to battle. Their jaws unhinged and illustrations of fire spurted out, curling around the entire dress and enveloping the fabric. Most of what Rinko made Ako was elaborate and fancy, but this was particularly detailed. Ako had requested an impressive dress that would make any knight instantly intimidated. It suited her needs as an evil demon overlord.

She was scheduled to meet with a knight in about half an hour. Revision: 'scheduled' wasn't the right word, considering the knight was supposed to teach her a lesson for her evil schemes. But, they had butted heads so many times that Ako could predict exactly when she would arrive. Some of the other demon lords made fun of Ako for this and said she had made friends with the knight, but Ako liked Hagumi's predictability. It made it easier for her to prepare a dramatic entrance.

Rinko fixed a cape around Ako's shoulders in a sweeping motion. It was short, only coming down to her elbows. Then, Rinko attached some blue roses to Ako's waist - the emblem for Roselia.

Roselia was a small group of demons, soldiers and mages who all opposed the royalty in some way. Some wanted revenge for the wrongdoings the monarchy had done, some just wanted an excuse to wreak havoc on the town. Ako was there because being a bad guy was much more appealing. Initially, they had all lived in the town but were banished. Ako didn't care - lurking in a menacing castle was cooler anyway.

The roses glimmered, sparkling under the orange glow of sunset. Tiny speckles of magic floated around the flowers and as Ako moved, the roses made a sort of chiming sound. They were grown in the castle gardens, where the flowers are tended to with magical energy. 

"Rin-Rin, it looks so good!" Ako said, turning around to face Rinko, who blushed and looked at the ground.

"Really? Ako-chin… could you hold still for the final touch."

"There's more"?

"Close your eyes."

Ako did so without hesitation. She heard Rinko's footsteps as she left to go to the other side of the room. Then, when she came back, Ako felt something being placed on her head. Ako tensed. Of course, she trusted Rinko, but they did tease each other every now and then. Rinko knew how much Ako hated crowns, so she might have been poking fun at that. She might have put a tiara on Ako's head, or something else uncool and royalty-like.

"Okay... you can open them."

Stood in front of her, Rinko was holding a mirror. Ako was in fact wearing a crown. But, not the kind that princesses wear. Rather than having spikes or jewels lining the sides of it, it was just a smooth black circle. On either side of her head were two tiny wings, which curved around like an animal protecting her. They looked like bat wings. On one side of the crown were some more blue roses, which also glistened with magic.

"It's so cool," Ako murmured. She was staring at the wings, poking them with a tentative finger so they didn't fall off.

"...You like it?"

"Not just like, I love it! Rin-Rin, I think this might actually make me like crowns. I really look the part now, don't I?"

Rinko smiled.

"I'm glad. You look really cool today… I think… she will definitely like it."

Ako looked at herself again in the mirror, this time blushing.

"She doesn't need to like it. I am Ako, the Eternal Lord of the Abyss and the thoughts of a mere knight mean nothing to me. My goal is to strike fear into the hearts of my enemies. Whether they appreciate our aesthetic tastes or not is irrelevant, as long as they kneel to me."

"I think she'll find it very scary, then," Rinko said, giggling.

"Ah, crap, the sun has almost set. She'll be here soon."

They left Ako's bedroom and walked down the hallway, greeting the various demons and talking armour stands as they went. Ako's room was at the very end of a long corridor with no windows, lit only by candles. She preferred the sense of mystery it gave. The floor was covered by an old red carpet that her shoes sank into and the walls were lined with paintings. They mostly showed battles that previous owners of the castle had won, or landscapes that had significance to whoever got them commissioned. At regular intervals down the corridor stood armour stands which wore the typical dark purple that Roselia soldiers wore. Most of them were in conversation with each other but as Rinko and Ako walked past, they nodded and cleared the way. Many of them complimented Ako's dress, which made the two of them very proud. At the end of the hallway, were three people. Ako knew who they were before the three even turned around.

"Hey, Rinko! Ako! What took so long— woah, Ako, your dress looks so good," Lisa said, running up to the two of them. Sayo followed, raising her eyebrows.

"I assume Shirokane-san made it. Only she could produce a dress of such high caliber."

"Ako, we spotted that knight from the palace approaching. She's alone. I assume you don't need us to stop her?" Yukina said.

"Nope! Leave her to me."

"Understood."

Yukina promptly walked off, nodding a goodbye to the four of them. Lisa smiled and shook her head, watching Yukina leave.

"Udagawa-san, don't stay up too late." Sayo said. "You need to wake up early for tomorrow."

"Come on, Sayo, she doesn't get to see Hagumi very often. There's no need to be so strict."

"Don't blame me if she sleeps in until midday then."

"Um… I can make sure she wakes up on time," Rinko said. "Using a spell."

"Why are you all talking as if I'm a little kid? I could control enough dragons to destroy nations! Come on, Rin-Rin, we need to hurry."

The two of them walked down the stairs that led to the throne room. Wide, foreboding - they were the kind of stairs that took two steps to move down a level. There were two sets of stairs that snaked around either side of the throne as if it were a precious jewel. As they walked, the only thing they could hear were their footsteps echoing, resounding across the throne room. As it was so big, candles couldn't light it all so they instead opted for large burners with open flames. Their smoke trailed up the walls, past ancient portraits of previous demon lords, and up through the gap in the high ceiling. Most of the room itself was empty. Ako tended not to spend time there. There were long tables at either side of the room with nothing on top of them except for a lacy tablecloth. In the middle, just by the stairs, was a large throne, encompassed by roses. The back of the throne curved up into a small dragon statue with its jaw open, its face pointed towards the front doors.

When Ako sat on the throne, it was as cold as she remembered. She didn't like to sit on it often. Every time before she went there, she hoped that it would just decide to warm itself up but it never did. As fitting as it was for an evil demon to spend time in a cold, dark lair, Ako wished sometimes that it would get warmer. That a hint of heat could rush into her palace and make sitting on her throne a little bit more enjoyable. To make it something Ako could look forward to.

The doors were flung open, completely on their hinges - they weren't supposed to do that. As they smacked into the brick walls on either side, some flames were extinguished. The doors seemed to shake, as if the wood was going to snap under the impact. Not that it would matter. Ako would replace anything in the castle that the knight broke. She was just glad Hagumi continued coming back.

She stood in the middle of the entrance, one hand on her hip and the other wrapped around her sword. It had a decoration above the handle where a yellow gem sat, the surface reflecting light like water. It wasn't as bright as Hagumi's eyes, though, that seemed to be glowing, bursting with the energy of the sun. She wasn't frowning like most knights do. Instead, she had the same big smile that was usually pasted over her face. It was the kind of smile that Ako was particularly weak to - the good-natured smile of someone who just wants to spread happiness. Her armour, made of steel, had gold patterns similar to the detailing on Ako's dress.

"Ako-chin! Did you set up a stable just so my horse could rest there? Thanks, you're so nice!" she said. Ako hid her smile with her hand.

"Silence! I was thinking about getting some horses for myself in the future anyway. Some undead, skeleton horses would help me in my quest to conquer the continent and cover it in darkness."

"Skeleton horses? I've never heard of those before. They sound really cool."

"Right? I'm glad you also appreciate— no. Don't act so casual with me, knight. What did you come to my castle for?"

"For you to return the fruits you stole from the marketplace this morning."

Rinko started laughing. She tried to make herself quieter but could only manage to get out a 'sorry, Ako-chan'.

"Rin-Rin! Don't laugh. The knight will think I'm weak."

"No, not at all!" Hagumi said. "You stole the fruits from a powerful magician. There was a spell cast on those fruits specifically so they wouldn't be stolen. So, you must have even more powerful magic, Ako-chin."

"Yes, it's about time you noticed. I am a queen to be feared. Do you really think you are able to defeat me, knight?"

Hagumi grinned. She waited a fraction of a second then ran towards Ako, her sword held steadily in her hand. When she got near, Rinko waved her staff and a dark purple circle radiated from the two of them, pushing itself out across the shaking floor and to the walls. The tables were thrown upwards, threatening to topple over, then came crashing back down all at once. Hagumi, however, was still on her feet.

"Woah, Rinko-chin, you've become so good with that spell!"

"Thank you," Rinko said, genuinely smiling.

Hagumi advanced again. Running out of mana, Rinko could only provide support for Ako. Hagumi swung her sword in the same instant that Ako repelled it with a spell. They both stepped back, eyes wide, then made eye contact and smiled. She tried again, this time infusing her sword with magical energy and breaking through Ako's spell. Before the sword made contact with Ako, Rinko used the handle of her staff to physically block it. Splinters of wood jetted in all directions but the staff did not snap. The three of them all paused. Ako laughed, deliberately lowering her voice and trying to sound as menacing as possible.

"You've become stronger, knight. Wonderful. But, I have a trick up my sleeve that you will be powerless against."

"Huh? Are you doing that… right now?" Rinko said. Ako nodded.

She stood away from the two of them and closed her eyes. If the knight was anyone else, they would have taken the opportunity to catch Ako off guard. Wisps of purple light formed around her, swirling together with increasing speed. It was as if she was stirring their air, brewing it into a poison. Hagumi stared, a mix of curiosity and what was perhaps pride on her face. Gradually, Ako started to levitate. It was a slow process, and she was swaying in the air the whole time, but she was levitating. She rose to a height about twice as high as Rinko, just high enough to be out of Hagumi's reach. Once she had stopped swaying, she folded her arms across her chest and triumphantly looked down on Hagumi.

"Do you see the differences in our ability now? You can't even reach me. Go on, try and get up here."

"Ako-chin, you should have told me that you were practising levitation magic! That's so cool!"

"I wanted to surprise you," Ako muttered, not even bothering to hide her smile this time. She spun around, did a flip mid-air, and cast some spells that weren't particularly powerful but looked pretty. Looking to the ceiling, she considered going higher. Sayo had told her not to fly too high, but she was doing fine. She wasn't even wobbling. What was the difference between being a few metres above the ground and being able to touch the ceiling?

"Ako-chan, stop," Rinko said as Ako climbed higher. "It's dangerous."

"It's fine, it's fine. Look at this, Miss Knight! I bet you could never do this!" she said, doing another flip in the air. Hagumi applauded.

Ako started wobbling. When she tried to stop herself from losing balance, she forgot to concentrate on actually staying up in the air and began falling. Rinko raised her staff, about to cast a spell to break Ako's fall but stopped as Hagumi moved to catch Ako. She landed in Hagumi's arms, blinking and looking around. When she saw Hagumi's face so close to her own, Ako's cheeks reddened.

"Thanks, Hagumi," she said, a little embarrassed.

"Don't mention it! Your levitation was impressive. Lots of the mages in the castle can't even do that. By the way, wouldn't this count as my win? Since I ended up saving you."

"Huh? You sly knight - you only did that so you could get the fruits back? Don't think that me, Ako, Eternal Lord of the Abyss, can be toyed with so easily," she said, still in Hagumi's arms but moving her hands to make dramatic gestures as she spoke. Hagumi's face softened and she leaned in even closer to Ako, who was caught off guard.

"No, I did it because I wanted to save you. Like stereotypical knights from fairytales do."

"Don't they normally save princesses? Not evil demon queens."

Hagumi let Ako stand up on her own feet.

"You're prettier than any princess I've seen, though! Oh, and, I forgot to mention this before but that dress suits you really well."

"Wh—? Are you trying to use psychological warfare to make me lower my guard?... Thank you.."

Hagumi smiled and put her sword back in its sheath.

She was a knight. But, she didn't act like one. Sure, she was strong, brave, fought for a good cause and was able to get along with everyone, but there was a side of her that was different to the typical muscly, charismatic knights that the castle usually sent over. Ever since the day they had met, Hagumi hadn't hesitated in calling Ako pretty or complimenting her abilities. Her job was literally to put an end to Ako's schemes and yet she was nicer to Ako than most people from the town. If perfect had a face, it would have a big warm smile and sparkling orange eyes.

"We're keeping the fruits in the kitchen. This way," Rinko said, leading them to a hallway off to the side. It was similar to the hallway upstairs, with an old carpet and as little lighting as possible, for the atmosphere. They went through the first door on the left and into a room that, upon opening the door, burst with flavour. The smell of melted chocolate and raspberries spilled out of the room, overflowing. Sweetness lingered in the air. It was a sudden contrast from the evergreen scent that the rest of the castle carried.

"Huh? What? Oh, Ako and Rinko," Lisa said, turning around. "And Hagumi! Hi, sorry about the mess."

The floor was white. It wasn't when Ako had last been in the kitchen. As she moved, she left footprints that told her the floor was completely covered in flour. Every single countertop was filled with stacks of cookies, some still steaming. There were so many that it looked industrial, as if a machine had been made to churn out hundreds an hour. But, when Ako looked at them closely, they were all definitely hand-made. They all had unique shapes and varied slightly in their size and thickness. Lisa hadn't used any magic to help her.

"Lisa-nee! Why are you making so many cookies?"

"I was making some for Sayo, but I can't make them perfect. So, I, uh, got carried away. This kitchen has way too many ovens - you shouldn't give me this much power."

"Imai-san... all your cookies taste delicious," Rinko said. "I'm sure Hikawa-san will like anything you make."

"Rinko, thanks. You're so sweet. But, Sayo's a perfectionist, you know? I feel like if I give her cookies that aren't all identical, she'll start lecturing me about consistency. Oh, but, since there's so many here, feel free to help yourselves to any cookies you want. And, if you get the chance then could you take some up to Yukina? She's been stuck in her room for ages, plotting battle strategies or whatever. She needs a break."

"Okay! Me and the knight will get the fruit. Rin-Rin, could you bring the cookies to Yukina-san?"

"Sure."

Rinko took a plate of cookies and left, popping one in her mouth as she walked out the door. An idea rising, Ako picked up another cookie and put it in Hagumi's mouth, who made a sort of surprised gasping noise. Lisa noticed, giggled and turned around to continue with her never-ending baking challenge. The two of them picked up the bags of fruit and left, walking down the corridor and out through the throne room.

"You're a nice person, Ako-chin."

"Huh? No I'm not. I'm a mean, evil overlord with no heart!"

"You stole these fruits so you could see me, didn't you?"

"Why would I do that."

"Ako-chin, I like seeing you as well."

"So now you're not even listening to me? You're an even ruder knight than I first imagined."

Hagumi beamed and her smile warmed Ako's heart. She had the same spring in her step that always seemed to be there. Whether Ako was fighting Hagumi or giving her cookies, Hagumi continued to be her usual self. It was heartwarming. Hagumi's bubbliness seemed to radiate out of her and make Ako happier as well. Just being with her made her excited, as if she had something to look forward to. As if she had woken up early to watch the sunrise and was filled with anticipation for the new day.

"Will you come back?" Ako said. Hagumi turned to her with wide eyes.

"Yes!" she said, attacking Ako in a hug. "You don't have to steal something. Next time you can just invite me normally."

"Demon queens don't invite knights to their castle."

Ako helped Hagumi put the bags of fruit onto her horse, which seemed to take an immediate liking to Ako. They said goodbye and Hagumi said she would return next week, even if Ako didn't do anything evil. That promise wasn't worth making. Ako was of course always being evil.

And Hagumi. She was always good and earnest. Not good in the sense that she blindly obeyed whatever the palace told her to do, but she was kind. When she first met Ako, she didn't instantly see her as a soulless enemy. She tried to understand Ako and be friends with her. It was probably how she acted with everyone. She was the kind of person to be naturally charismatic and make everyone like her without trying. But, when Ako had to spend the last few years enduring an onslaught of boring knights who only cared to battle her and never listened to what she had to say, Hagumi was a ray of hope. She was a reminder that they weren't all that bad.

Ako didn't usually like to associate with the palace. They always played by the rules. Boring, uncool. Hagumi, though, she was different. There were times when they could mess around together, almost as if they were friends and not enemies set out to destroy each other. She watched Hagumi, descending down towards the town on her horse. She quickly became no more than a black silhouette, a subset to the vast expanse of sky that stretched from Ako's castle to the tiny town below. The oranges of sunset had since been crushed under the weight of the dark blue and purple hues of night. Stars had pulled in, gently scattering themselves around. Still, there was a glimmer of the sun's light just above the horizon. It was a promise that what happened today would return.

**Author's Note:**

> akohagu!!!!!!


End file.
